What Is The Best Luxury Car You Can Buy For Under $35,000?

A used E350 is the best car you can get for 35k. These little fwd chick cars don't do it. Basically the A3, 1 series and CLAs are gussied up Honda Civics with lipstick on them. I'll put my 35k towards a real car.
T

The German 3 obviously are seeing different results than your preferences as sales of the Mercedes-Benz CLA and Audi A3 are soaring.

1 series is/was rear wheel drive, not a gussied up Civic, but agree with your overall conclusion. It is best to get a gently used E or 5r or even a C or 3r than any of the above.

New? I would probably go with a Buick Regal. It is a good car for the money. 3 Series can be gotten for under 35k, but I wouldn't want the low end version.

Depends on how you define luxury i.e. features or brand. A $35K Fusion, Optima, Sonata, or Passat are quite luxurious.

Nameplate? Audi...at least until the BMW 1 Series gets here.

Get a loaded Sonata. It will ride better and have more wizbang features than any $35K Euro import.

We own a 2011 Kia Optima SX turbo fully optioned and it stickered at $30850 and the dealer discount was $2500. The snow white metallic beauty is still outstanding and the style is timeless. A decade from know this Optima will still be in. Its full of luxury items including heated and cooled seats, cooled glove box that keeps drinks cold, large back seat and suitable leg room and a huge trunk. The leather has been top grade with no wrinkles. We had one recall for a brake lite warning switch sensor. After 26k the stock tires are just about ready to replace. Gas mileage is 34.7 mpg at 70mph using cruise on long trips and locally 27 mpg stop and go. If you like speed the turbo is outstanding and the paddles shifters gives you manual like shifts. 0-60 is fast for a sedan at 6.1 and qtr mile at 14.5 seconds. Its a fun car to drive and a bargain. Even the stock base model at $22k is a steal. Yes we will consider buying a Kia again.

Yeah the Optima is a sweet sedan for the money, there's no doubt.

But in the context of this article, "luxury" means prestige brand. And even Hyundai is a prestige brand compared to Kia. By the way I think you can order a new Hyundai Azera Limited for just under $35000, not counting the destination fee. I think that's kind of a luxury car, no less so a Buick in any case.

I'm sure Autospies will say its either Hyundai or KIA.

I'm sure Autospies will say its either Hyundai or KIA.

Luxury as used in this article is a relative term. You're not going to match the look and feel of a $100k+ vehicle for a mear $35k.